The Dream Journal

Chapter 4

Perrie opened the door, the bells above her chiming to let her presence be known.  She walked forward into the dusty and cramped store, coughing a bit after inhaling some dust particles.  The woman behind the counter watched her approach, curiosity in her eyes.

"Hello dearie.", she said, a smile on her face since she recognized the blonde in front of her.

"Yeah, hi.", Perrie muttered, grabbing the journal out of her bag and dropping it onto the counter.

"What can I help you with?"

"This stupid journal.", the blonde demanded, her index finger jabbing against the front cover of the thing that trapped her friend in a dreamworld. 

"What's wrong with it?"

"It works."

The old woman looked at her as if she was mental, her hands cautiously grabbing the binded journal to take a closer look at it.  "Isn't that what it's supposed to do, dearie?"

"Don't call me dearie!", Perrie shouted, slamming her fists against the counter top.  "Everything I've ever wanted is coming true in my dreams.  I have everything I want, with a single stroke of my pen.  Do you not get it yet?!"

"Not particularly, no."

"THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE!"  Perrie leaned over to grab the woman's shirt, pulling her closer.  "I didn't think this stupid thing would actually work!  I thought you were kidding!  I thought you were just trying to get me to buy it!  I didn't think I'd be able to create a world where I'm in charge, and everything I say goes, or whatever I want, I get!  That's not physically possible!  The universe isn't capable of doing that!"

"Honey...I still don't see how this is a problem."

"Well, everything was going swell...until that stupid thing sucked up my friend!"

The woman blinks at Perrie.  "That's not possible, honey-"

"Well it is, because it freaking happened!  I now have a dream version of my friend, and the real version of my friend stuck in the same universe created by that journal!  So tell me how to get her out!"  The woman somehow get's Perrie to loosen her grip on her shirt, moving away from the furious blonde to look through the journal and see what the problem is.  Just as she was about to read the first couple entries, the young woman grabbed it out of her hands and snapped it shut.  "That's private!"

"If you want me to fix this, I need to find out what's going on."  Perrie reluctantly tosses the journal back over the counter, folding her arms across her chest and leaning on the old mahogany wood.  "Well, that's interesting..."

"What is?"

"I've never seen anything like this before.  I thought it was impossible...but there she is, getting threatened by her own self."  The woman opened the book so that Perrie could look at is as well.  The blonde gasped, reading how terribly Jade is being treated while she's gone.  "Her double is really causing some trouble."

"Yeah, okay, you've read everything now...so how do I get Jade back to reality?"

"I'm afraid I can't do much to help you."

"But you're the one who-"

"Relax, dearie.  I said that I can't do much, but that doesn't mean you can't do anything.  You're the one that owns this journal, not me, so that means I'm not in control of this situation.  However, you are entirely in control."

"So what do I do?  Just freaking tell me!"

"Alright, I have an idea, but you're going to have to let Jade know what you're planning..."  Perrie stands there, focused on everything the woman is saying, anticipation in the air as she waits with baited breath...only to be rewarded with silence.